The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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LINEBACKERS 100 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW defense. First-team All-Big Ten … that's a big goal for me. And then being an All- American this year." Projected Backups Will Push For Time Given the lack of experience at the position, Michigan coaches went to the portal for help, looking for a potential starter or two to compete. Pitt's Rasheem Biles and Cal's Cade Uluave were high on their wish list, but Texas landed Biles with a reportedly substantial NIL deal, and BYU won the Uluave sweepstakes. In their place, U-M turned to a 2025 FCS standout, a former rival and a famil- iar name to provide depth and compete for time. All will get opportunities this fall after joining the team in the spring. "A few guys I'm super excited about that have played a lot of college football are Nathaniel Staehling, Aisea Moa, and Max Alford, who was with me at BYU," Hill said. "Those last three guys, for whatever reason — injury, transfer — they didn't do a lot in the spring. But those guys add great depth to the room." Staehling (6-2, 238) spent four seasons at North Dakota State and was a team captain as a senior in 2025. He appeared in 32 games during his career, notching 91 tackles (7 for loss) with 1.5 sacks, 8 pass breakups, 3 interceptions, and 2 fumble recoveries. Most of his production came last year, when he registered 75 tackles, including 6 for loss with 1.5 sacks, 1 fum- ble recovery, 4 pass breakups and 3 picks. An honorable mention All-Missouri Valley Conference linebacker in 2025, he's one many are excited to see more of in fall camp after he spent much of spring recovering from an injury. Moa (6-2, 238), older brother of fresh- man receiver Salesi Moa, spent three sea- sons at BYU (2022-24) and one at Mich- igan State (2025) before transferring to U-M in the offseason. He's been a backup, for the most part, though he appeared in all 12 games for the Spartans last year and 12 more for BYU the previous year. He contributed 12 tackles, including 1 for loss, with 2 pass breakups for MSU and 16 for the Cougars, including one start, 0.5 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. "It was something I couldn't pass up," Moa said of playing with his brother. "I had to take advantage of it. We talked about it — it was going to be a great ex- perience to come here together, play in the Big House, play for the best team in college football." It helped him, too, that he played for Hill at BYU before moving on to MSU. [FYI] ❱ No position group on the roster was as rocked by the offseason as the linebackers, who lost three players with starting experience from last year. Seven of the 11 scholarship players were not with the program last season, which includes four transfer portal additions and three true freshmen, all of whom were winter enrollees. North Dakota State transfer Na- thaniel Staehling has the most proven production, racking up 75 tackles over 13 starts last season at the FCS level. ❱ New position coach Alex Whittingham, the son of head coach Kyle Whittingham, will be coaching at the collegiate level for the first time after eight seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL. As a defensive assistant, he was part of five Super Bowl appearances and three championships while working with each position group during his tenure under head coach Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. While working with the line- backers from 2020-23, he helped guide Nick Bolton to a record-breaking season, setting a franchise mark with 180 total tackles in 2022. Players he coached combined for four Pro Bowl seasons in Kansas City. ❱ Six of U-M's 11 scholarship linebackers have either freshman or sophomore eligibility. Second- year players Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng and Chase Taylor are expected to compete for start- ing roles, with classmate Christian Pierce providing depth, along with freshmen Aden Reeder, Markel Dabney and Kaden Catchings. STARTER ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Despite the optimism from the coaches, this is a "wait and see" until we see them against good competition. That will likely come in Week 2 against Oklahoma, a team that exposed a veteran U-M linebacker group at times last year in Norman. We like the athleticism here with Nathan- iel Owusu-Boateng, Troy Bowles and Chase Taylor, but only Bowles has played signifi- cant minutes. There are others who will push these three, but we'd bet on this trio and hope linebackers coach Alex Whittingham gets the most out of them. DEPTH ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ There was hope they'd add one more proven piece from the transfer portal to this group, but it didn't work out. Given that, depth is undoubtedly the biggest concern at linebacker — they'll be relying on players with little experience in the starting lineup, too. North Dakota State transfer Nate Staeh- ling played a lot of football in his three-year career with the Bison, but not at this level. He was banged up a bit in spring and will have to catch up this summer and fall, but there's hope he can rise to the occasion if called upon. Michigan State transfer Aisea Moa, BYU transfer Max Alford and several freshmen will be in the mix, as well. Some will need to step up. OVERALL ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ This unit could certainly exceed expecta- tions given the athletes they have and given what we know about linebackers coach Alex Whittingham. He was an assistant on the staff of five Kansas City Chiefs teams that reached the Super Bowl, and he has three rings. He worked with every defensive position group during his time with the franchise, including outside linebackers. His father, head coach Kyle Whittingham, obviously knows a few things about defense, too. We'd feel better if U-M had at least one re- turning starter and another proven commod- ity here, but "it is what it is," as former U-M coach Lloyd Carr used to say. They'll need a few guys to grow up quickly. PRESEASON ANALYSIS Michigan's Leading Tacklers The Last 10 Years Season Player Total Tackles 2016 Ben Gedeon 94 2017 Devin Bush 94 2018 Tyree Kinnel 72 2019 Khaleke Hudson 102 2020* Josh Ross 53 2021 Josh Ross 106 2022 Junior Colson 101 2023 Junior Colson 95 2024 Ernest Hausmann 89 2025 Jimmy Rolder 73 * Six-game season